NBA’s David Stern: ‘There’s no current team in play’ for Seattle

Uh oh. Things aren’t looking that great for Seattle getting an NBA team sooner rather than later.

NBA Commissioner David Stern, right, and his deputy, Adam Silver, speak to media Thursday during the league's Board of Governors meeting at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. (Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)

On Thursday, at a meeting of NBA owners in New York City, league Commissioner David Stern said he doesn’t know where Seattle would get a team from, according to reports. But Stern did say the NBA is excited about the progress of Seattle’s effort to build a new basketball and hockey arena.

“We’ve dealt with everything from Kansas City to Virginia Beach to Pittsburgh, Columbus, Louisville — all cities of the certain type who would very much like to be considered for an NBA franchise. Anaheim, Vancouver, Las Vegas. So Seattle is very much in the mix.”

News broke Thursday that Stern, 70, plans to retire on Feb. 1, 2014 — exactly 30 years after he became the NBA commissioner on Feb. 1, 1984. His deputy commissioner, Adam Silver, was approved by the Board of Governors to take over for Stern.

Meanwhile, Seattle arena investor Chris Hansen, who wants to acquire an NBA franchise for Seattle, may be running out of options. The NBA’s Board of Governors on Thursday also approved the sale of the Memphis Grizzlies to a group headed by California investor Robert J. Pera, narrowing the short list of struggling franchises that could potentially be available for relocation.

For Seattle, under his agreement with the city and King County, Hansen must nail down an NBA team before construction would start on the proposed arena in Sodo, just south of the Safeco Field parking garage. The city and county councils approved a public arena-financing plan last week, sending the process to the next stage: a state-mandated environmental study that could take a year.

“We think that it is a great development in Seattle,” Stern said, as reported by Cowbell Kingdom. “And we’re excited about it. But there is no current team in play, and that’s going to be an issue for the owners to consider.”

So … what about an expansion team for Seattle?

“What I would say is, I wouldn’t preclude it,” Stern said. “We have something, a relocation committee, that is going to have on its lists of authorities to focus on, consider and report to the board whether expansion is recommended or not.”